Tarrus Riley Dismisses Foota Hype During Confrontation Online About Shenseea
Reggae singer Tarrus Riley and popular selector/vlogger Foota Hype recently squared off in a verbal confrontation after Tarrus Riley posted a picture of himself with female Dancehall artiste Shensea on Instagram.
The disagreement between the two stemmed from Tarrus performing his hit collaboration “Lighter” with Shenseea in Trinidad on February 16th. Foota believes that as a Rastaman, Tarrus Riley should not be performing with Shenseea, who publicly confessed that she is a homosexual.
The self-proclaimed “Viral King” also made mention of Protoje and Kabaka Pyramid, whom he implied are working and affiliated with artistes who are homosexuals.
On his Instagram page, the popular selector shared a post stating, “Everytime mi si @tarrusrileyja mi bredren perform wid @shenseea mi shame when mi si @protoje and @kybakapyramid perform wid @koffee or @lilaike mi shame is like rasta nah no standard or boundaries it is sooo embarrassing dem show di world say a demon life dem a live and RASTA still a work wid dem dis a bl0tcl@@@t joke.” In the caption below the post, Foota tagged the artistes asking them to explain what was going on.
Tarrus Riley responded to Foota’s post by posting two pictures of himself and Shenseea on Instagram. In the caption, he included two lines from the lyrics of their collaboration, “Endless Lovin and it Cyan Expire” and “Ah Who Sey JahJah Neva Ansa Prayer.”
Foota Hype quickly responded to Riley’s post. He replied with the following comment, “The rasta and the batti girl OH GOSH!” in the comments section. A fan responded with several disrespectful words, which Foota reciprocated in kind. Afterwards, Riley addressed the selector’s comments, proposing that he should do his work using the platform of his choice but refrain from disrespecting his page and religion.
Foota Hype immediately retaliated, asking the “Shes’s Royal” singer if he was unaware of the disrespect he was responding to or if he was playing blind to it. Furthermore, he stated that he was not disrespecting him nor interested in an argument, but rather to have a public discussion so that he could understand what was going on. Tarrus, however, reaffirmed his stance that he felt disrespected.
He stated that he wasn’t playing blind to anything and won’t condone any disrespect on his page. He advised Foota to contact Shenseea if he had a problem with her sexuality and to desist from coming to his page to do so. Moreover, the singer dismissed any possibility of discussion with the vlogger, claiming that if he had wished to discuss the matter, he would’ve been respectful in his approach.
In attempting to prolong the conversation, Foota stated that Tarrus was doing what he said he wasn’t about to do. He outlined that all he wanted to know was how he (Tarrus), as a Rastaman, and his faith goes together with a female who is openly gay. Riley responded with, “Me sey weh mi sey n mi done now….Ez Foota,” bringing an abrupt end to the conversation.
Fans defending both sides continued their rants in the comments. Some agreed with Foota, while others defended Taurus Riley.
Foota Hype (40), whose real name is Oneil Ricardo Thomas, currently resides in the United States of America. Tarrus Riley, named Omar Riley at birth, is 43 years old and has both Jamaican and American nationalities.
Foota went live after the confrontation, watch below:
